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Princess Mary Tudor
"I swear to you now on the Holy Gospels and on the soul of my mother that I will make England faithful again. I will do whatever is takes. I will 'burn' as many heretics, spill as much blood as it takes to make this unfortunate realm Catholic again, so help me God." — Princess Mary '''Princess Mary Tudor '''is the only surviving child of King Henry and Catherine of Aragon, as well as the oldest of the King's children; notably, she is the only female character apart from Catherine Brooke, Duchess of Suffolk to appear in all four seasons, although she played by a different actress during Season One, in which her role is only a brief one. The Irish actress Sarah Bolger plays her in an award-winning. Mary's personality changes overtime, mainly due to her father's various marriages (which dramatically affect her social rank, despite being the legitimate daughter of a King) and her own devoutly Catholic beliefs; she goes from being a cheerful, carefree little girl to a bitter, formidable young woman. Had her mother Catherine (with whom Mary had a very loving relationship) lived longer, Mary might have developed a more merciful disposition, but Catherine died while Mary was still a teenager. Mary had either hostile or at least mistrustful relationships with all her subsequent stepmothers except Jane Seymour, who died after only a year and a half of marriage to Henry. Although Mary initially loved her half-siblings Elizabeth and Edward, she was much older than either of them and became concerned about their exposure to Protestantism, believing that it would bring about England's doom. As Henry is often absent or ineffective as a parent (despite Mary's continued love for him and vice versa), she finds a devoted friend and father-figure in the Imperial Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys. She maintains the royal title of Princess Mary until being demoted to simply Lady Mary, although she is later restored to the Royal Line. She would eventually become Mary I, becoming the first recognized Queen Regnant of England; however, today her short reign is remembered unfavorably, mainly due to her oppressive religious policies. Season One Mary appears in a few episodes early in Season 1 as a little girl. A descendant of the Royal houses of Tudor (England, Ireland and Wales) and Trastámara (Spain) she is introduced as the young daughter on whom Henry and Catherine shower affection. She is initially supposed to be married to the Dauphin of France, who is about the same age (whom she kisses and then knocks over when they first meet, to Henry's amusement), but when personal tensions develop between her father and King Francis I at a summit, she is instead betrothed to Emperor Charles V (also the Holy Roman Emperor), her mother's nephew who is more than a decade older than her. The marriage is deliberately put off by both parties because Mary is far too young, with the stipulation that the wedding will commence after Mary's 12th birthday. However, a combination of events causes Charles to breach the pact, despite his affection for Henry as he is married to Catherine (Charles' aunt). Charles manages to capture the King of France in a battle, but decides it is a good political move to release him, angering Henry. Charles is also mildly uneasy about a cousin marriage. The final nail in the coffin that ruins the arranged marriage is when Charles courts (and ultimately marries) a Portuguese princess, citing that she was closer to age to him than Mary and that he could not wait any longer to have a woman. As a child Mary has a sweet, innocent personality that shows her later generosity; everyone who meets her (including Anne Boleyn, briefly) treats her with kindness. However, Mary is increasingly separated from her mother thanks to the machinations of Catherine's enemy Cardinal Wolsey; her position as heir is also threatened by Henry's bastard son Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond, but the little boy soon dies during a sweating sickness outbreak. Despite the initially happy marriage between Mary's parents and the love they each have for her, Henry longs for a son, worrying Mary will not be seen as a proper heir despite being his legitimate child. Catherine's failure to produce a living son causes Henry to subsequently destroy the marriage. Mary is largely oblivious to the political machinations that revolve around her family, but by episode 1.05, when she is sent to live separately from her mother, she begins to realize something is wrong. Henry continues to recognize Mary as his daughter despite attempting to annul his marriage to Catherine, arranging a tentative betrothal between her and the Duke of Orleans (King Francis' second son) in episode 1.06, to solidify his new alliance with France. Despite having broken his marriage pact with her, Emperor Charles continues to show concern for her and her mother's well-being. Category:Characters Category:The King Character Category:Season 1 Characters Category:The Kings Category:Tudor family Category:Whitehall Palace